The equation is simple, 4th place and below will not do for Alonso. But time around, there are a huge number of Potential Petrov's lurking on the grid who can easily & without remorse take up the top 3 places ahead of Alonso. Mark Webber is not part of the equation because it's his basic 'Team Job' to keep Alonso behind if possible, unlike the "Petrov's", who are doing their own stuff and not part of a strategy to help either Vettel or Alonso.

Some of the contenders include World Class drivers such as Hamilton, Kimi & Button....along with hot-headed drivers like Grosjean, Maldonado, Perez who all have decent cars to surprise the Ferrari's in Qualy as well as Race.

And to think both Mercedes cars could come good agonizingly for Ferrari in the last race after a streak of 5-pointless race, almost like Petrov-Renault in 2010. Rosberg & Schumi are surely the wildcards that can upset Alonso's cart frustratingly for him.

Vettel's Lead No. 13- Lucky for one, unlucky for the other? Everything thing suggests that destiny has already been written, only the outcome is to be revealed in Brazil. Could be the best race of the 2012 season.

I wish it is Monday morning so all these conspiracy theories and speculations what will happen if disappear... does it make any sense to start separate threads for Alonso haters, Vettel haters, Ferrari haters, etc? I just hope that none of the drivers is reading this nonsense...

AFAIK, Vettel is the only front runner who has been able to avoid his wrath thus far. With one race to go, that needs to change!

If the temperatures will be low, the Renault won't be a 'problem' due to slightly lower top speeds. I think Raikkonen might be a pain in the bottocks due to his knowledge of the track, Grosjean has only been here 2 times before compared to 9 times for Raikkonen.

The Williams' are dropping back in the race a bit, compared to the Ferrari. In Q esp Maldonado has a chance but I suspect he has to duke it out with Senna in front of their home crowd.

No, the real competition will likely come from McLaren, IF Red Bull is at the front. Hamilton is not that good at the circuit but I think Alonso - Button will go round 2 this year.

Maldonado. He has the potential to qualify high enough to influence front-runners.

Vettel will have his alternator failed around lap 20, running for 2nd behind Hamilton.

Alonso will find himself then on 4th just behind Maldonado. He will struggle to overtake because Williams will have good top speed and he will be afraid of a risky move because of the opinion what Maldonado has he will not want to be taken out by him. With several laps to go he will make his mind to try something more risky, but it will be too late since Maldonado will manage his tyres better just like in the last stint in Barcelona.

Vettel's the one leading the championship, so its him who needs to be worried about having his race ruined by somebody else.

Vettel is one who can afford DNF and still win the champonship. Alonso on the other hand MUST get at least 3rd to have any chance. And if Vettel finishes al least 4th - Alonso will lose no matter what.

Vettel is one who can afford DNF and still win the champonship. Alonso on the other hand MUST get at least 3rd to have any chance. And if Vettel finishes al least 4th - Alonso will lose no matter what.

Yeah but I think Seanspeed's point was that Vettel is now in the same position as Alonso was in the last race in 2010, so the title should be "who could be Vettel's Petrov" or something.

Other than a random incident with some backmarker (Karthikeyan for the third time ?), most likely Renault's alternator or maybe engine. Otherwise, Alonso's "Petrov" will simply be Vettel by finishing ahead or too close.

In 2010, Alonso had an 8 point lead over Webber (2nd place in the standings before Abu Dhabi) and a 15 point lead over Vettel (the eventual champion). He was the favourite back then. Now that Vettel is in the lead and the favourite, a driver can only become someone's Petrov by blocking Vettel, rather than Alonso.

Indeed. If we get a surprising finale, it'll probably along the lines of an "unspectacular Mansell" engineering failure from the lead Red Bull. Although Alonso will still need to finish on the podium, which is where Petrov and his potential successor may come into it.

Grosjean is out of discussion, being a Petrov doesn't mean crashing other driver out of the race but beating him fair and square, with a slower car. On the other hand, that's more difficult in an easy-to-overtake track like Interlagos compared to Abu Crappy. Of course, Grosjean could beat Alonso or Vettel fair and square, but to be a Petrov, you need to get surprisingly a good result, a good result for a Lotus driver isn't a surprise.

So, I'd say all RBR, Ferrari, McLaren, and Lotus drivers are out of question. And Sauber or STR drivers are Petrov's only if they cost the title to their "ally team", if they cost the title to their ally's opponent, then they just did their job.

Anyway, thinking of some epic Petrovs, Schuey, Senna, and Kobayashi come to my mind. Schuey's having his final race, Senna his home race, and Koba trying to impress team bosses to get a seat. And Senna and Koba would also be lower-prfile drivers, like Petrov was.

And of course, also Vettel can get Petrovized. But knowing Alonso's temperament, I'd feel more Schadenfreude should he get Petrovized.

if i base my assumption on car pace + driver combo only and the possibilty of qualifying in Q3

1.nico rosberg (merc has one lap pace and may out-qualify ferrari's)
2.nico hulkenberg (strong qualifier)
3.Michael Schumacher (if he somehow gets ahead of Alonso, i believe he's the one driver that most F1 drivers Dread being behind )
4.Pastor Maldonado (again if he can get pass alonso, also any driver will think 3/4 times before making a move to pass him)

regarding kimi ... he's a racer, if alonso can pass him on pace and skill, he won't make it difficult.

Vettel's the one leading the championship, so its him who needs to be worried about having his race ruined by somebody else.

Exactly - this time Vettel is in the Alonso position so it is he who needs to avoid anything untoward.

Actually, it will be interesting because he has not really been in this situation before. In 2009 he was the chaser (or one of them anyway). In 2010, there was no serious expectation that he could win at the last race so he had nothing to lose (like Alonso now) and in 2011 he was never in danger of losing the WDC at any race - wrapped up much too early for that. Now, any mishap is potentially a WDC down the drain. Will it affect him at all?

And I assume they don't have DRS in the main straight just like they didn't have last year. And the straight after T3 wasn't that good an overtaking spot, even with DRS.

But the one who can get stuck behind somebody is Vettel, not Alonso, I think. But I'd say also it's getting Petrovized if you're struggling with e.g. your tyres at the end of the race and get overtaken by some underdog.

The equation is simple, 4th place and below will not do for Alonso. But time around, there are a huge number of Potential Petrov's lurking on the grid who can easily & without remorse take up the top 3 places ahead of Alonso. Mark Webber is not part of the equation because it's his basic 'Team Job' to keep Alonso behind if possible, unlike the "Petrov's", who are doing their own stuff and not part of a strategy to help either Vettel or Alonso.

Some of the contenders include World Class drivers such as Hamilton, Kimi & Button....along with hot-headed drivers like Grosjean, Maldonado, Perez who all have decent cars to surprise the Ferrari's in Qualy as well as Race.

And to think both Mercedes cars could come good agonizingly for Ferrari in the last race after a streak of 5-pointless race, almost like Petrov-Renault in 2010. Rosberg & Schumi are surely the wildcards that can upset Alonso's cart frustratingly for him.

Vettel's Lead No. 13- Lucky for one, unlucky for the other? Everything thing suggests that destiny has already been written, only the outcome is to be revealed in Brazil. Could be the best race of the 2012 season.

Spain’s Mundo Deportivo newspaper said that Red Bull will definitely use the brand new specification for the Sao Paulo finale.

The pressure is ON Vettel, things haven't gone perfectly for him in past two races. They could have been breathing a lot easier IF Vettel had won the last two, which they could have but didnt. While Ferrari have maximised their chances and there is nothing else they can do in Brazil which they havent in the past few races.

Suppose if now Vitaly Petrov would drive a car comparable potential to at least Lotus, in Brazil in 2012 he could fight for the podium. I think he has all proved that became very strong pilot by other parameters. Now, over time, the ability for the last time Vitaly Petrov very grown up. As a big plus V.Petrov in that in a short time he could to adapt to the machine in which Heikki spent quite a long time. And then Alonso or Vettel??? - the parameters for prediction is very much...F1 and it is interesting...